


of stupid deals and stupider boys

by baekhyunsmoles



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: But it's not explicitly stated, Gen, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of corpses, anyway jjolee supremacy, hell is white because i said so, it's a mess i'm so sorry cat, it's not thaaat dark i promise they're just reapers, junjae can be interpreted any way you want to, no beta we die like jaewon, ok that's a lie they're kinda leaning towards romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baekhyunsmoles/pseuds/baekhyunsmoles
Summary: Jaewon's just another damned soul. He's just another unlucky guy. It doesn't concern Junsu whether he lives, dies, or goes to hell and stays there. But why does leaving him alone make him feel so guilty?
Relationships: Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Junsu, Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Kang Dongho | D.Min & Kim Daehyun & Lee Minsoo
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19
Collections: Lost in Translation Fic Discord Secret Santa





	of stupid deals and stupider boys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wildforwyld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildforwyld/gifts).



> this is so so messy i really don't claim it

Jaewon should be used to this. He should be used to the rumours, the deception, the constant visits to clubs. It shouldn’t affect him anymore.

And yet, each time he stands here, blinded by the pulsing red lights that fill the club, a woman he’s never met before with her hand resting on his thigh, he can’t help the way his chest collapses in on itself, leaving an aching gap that cannot be filled. He forces himself to lean into her touch, hoping, praying for the shutter of a reporter’s camera to signal his freedom.

But Jaewon is anything but lucky. Freedom comes many drinks into the night when he is desperately scrambling for an excuse not to leave with the woman tugging on his shirt. The moment he spots the flash of the paparazzo’s camera, he staggers to his feet. Somehow, he makes it to his car. Distantly, he wonders if he should be driving in this condition. He decides he doesn’t care.

Maybe if Jaewon wasn’t laser-focused on escape, he would have noticed that everything about him driving was a disaster waiting to happen. Maybe if he wasn’t drowning in the need to be back at the dorm, safe, anywhere but here, if he wasn’t choking on it and blinking back tears, he would have avoided the disaster altogether.

His hands still tremble long after he starts driving. Jaewon’s chest feels too small, too small, as if someone is forcing his lungs where they do not fit. 

_Breathe,_ he tells himself, but breath escapes him, far out of reach. _Calm down_ , he tells himself, but there’s no stopping his heart threatening to jackrabbit out of his chest.

Minsoo and Dongho are probably waiting for him at the dorm (not home, never his to call home). Jaewon wishes they couldn’t. He’s tired of having to ignore their stares every time he comes back. He can’t meet Minsoo’s eyes, can’t look up and see the ever-present disappointment. He can’t keep ignoring Dongho’s attempts to talk to him about the CEO, can’t keep dodging his pleading glances when he would like nothing more than to break down in front of him.

Jaewon’s vision swims. He screws up his eyes, tries to keep the tears at bay. He takes small, shallow breaths, trying to breathe around the lump in his throat. Perhaps this is why he doesn’t see it coming.

The last thing he feels before it all fades out is relief.

* * *

Junsu is just wandering when he first notices the car crash.

He’s bored out of his mind, despite the occasion. Reapers usually spend the entire year waiting for the night of the underworld, the one day they can roam free on earth, the one day Angels cannot. But now that it’s here, Junsu has absolutely no idea what to do.

At a glance, the crash looks like a normal accident. It’s only as he grows closer that he notices the soul inside, and the abnormal amount of people gathered around it.

He pushes through the crowd (which is a lot easier when no being from this realm can touch or see you), catching snippets of conversation around him. 

“—already dead—” 

“—that playboy idol—”

“—got what was coming to him—”

The corpse itself appeared relatively unharmed, the blood oozing from his head indistinguishable from his scarlet hair. Even with the colour leached out of him, Junsu could tell he had been pretty in life. 

It was strange though, that Junsu hadn’t noticed him until he saw the crowd. Night of the underworld or not, reapers are supposed to be drawn to all souls belonging to the devil, and, judging by what the crowd was saying, this man’s soul has long since passed into the devil’s hands.

Junsu inches forward, curious, He kneels over the corpse, reaching out for the soul, trying to glean some information from his memories. 

All it took was one look to realise what was going on. 

Jaewon, the man’s name, was a human so selfless that he gave up everything for three men who would only ever remember him as a trouble maker. He sacrificed his reputation, his career, and ultimately, his life. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where his soul was going to end up. 

But, Junsu realises, horror mounting, Jaewon might not reach that place.

Blessed souls don’t die on the night of the underworld. They just don’t. Only those destined for the deepest corners of hellfire die on this day. The only possible explanation is that Jaewon wasn’t meant to die today.

For some inexplicable reason, Junsu can’t stand the idea of Jaewon going to hell, becoming a demon, just because fate decided he hadn’t suffered enough.

It shouldn’t affect him. After all, he’s a reaper. He lived his life without a single care for anyone other than himself, earned his spot in hell. Why should a stranger’s suffering bother him?

But it does. The injustice of it all burns through all logic. And before he can think twice, Jaewon’s soul is in his hands and he’s pulling. The soul resists, pulls back, and it is in that moment that he begins to suspect something is wildly off in this situation, and siren bells begin to ring in the distance in his thoughts.

Still, Junsu has gone too far to turn back now. He persists until Jaewon’s soul is awake, blinking blearily at him. 

The sense of righteous anger fades and the sirens start blaring too loud to ignore. The full gravity of what he’s done begins to sink in. He’d rather not think of the aftermath.

 _Well_ , Junsu thinks, watching Jaewon slowly gain awareness of his surroundings, _that’s a bridge to cross when I get to it. A flaming, crumbling bridge with more holes than places to stand._

But right now, he has a newly reaped soul to deal with.

* * *

Jaewon still doesn’t understand what happened. 

Logically, he knows. He knows the story the reaper told him, could probably recite it verbatim considering how many times Jaewon made him repeat it,

But he still can’t wrap his head around the idea, is still waiting to wake up from this dream.

Dead. Jaewon is dead.

He’s dead and now he’s awake because this man,

no, _reaper_ ,

named Jun claimed his soul to guide him to the afterlife.

Except Jun wasn’t supposed to do that because Jaewon was meant to be guided by a different creature entirely. 

Whatever that means.

All Jaewon can do is stare at Jun, mind swimming with questions, as the reaper paces up and down the street. They’re still at the scene of the crash, despite Jaewon’s protests. 

(“Where would we go?” Jun asked, pure black eyes boring into him. Jaewon suggested his dorm, trying to keep his voice light. But Jun saw right through him, telling him he there was no point trying to visit his members or anyone he knew when he was alive for that matter, because they wouldn't be able to see or hear them anyway.

Jaewon didn’t say anything after that.)

Jaewon stares straight ahead, trying not to look at his corpse peeking out in the corner of his vision. His corpse, ghost-white in some places and bruised purple in some, still lying in a puddle of blood on the road. For all the fuss the onlookers made about the crash, it seems calling an ambulance didn’t occur to any of them. 

Jaewon has heard of this before, the bystander effect. Minsoo told him about it.

...Minsoo. 

Jaewon wonders if the news has reached Minsoo and the others yet;

His stomach tightens at the thought of Mayhem, of Mayhem finding out, and he instantly turns his focus to Jun, who’s still trying not to panic and failing miserably. 

Looks like they could both use a distraction.

“So,” Jaewon says, drawing Jun’s attention, “Jun, huh? Is there just one syllable? Or am I just getting one?” 

Jun rolls his eyes at him. Jaewon thinks he might have heard a mumbled 'do you ever run out of questions?’ but he’s not sure. At least it’s a step up from freaking out. 

“Junsu,” He states. Jaewon supposes it’s a good start.

“Junsu.” Jaewon repeats. He looks directly into Junsu’s eyes. They’re startling, the sclera as black as the iris, and Jaewon can’t tear his eyes off of them. “Are you going to calm down and explain anything to me or…?”

Junsu scowls. “What is there to explain?” He mutters, annoyed, “I already told you everything there is to tell. Multiple times.”

“You’ve conveniently avoided the reason you’re acting like we only have a few more hours to live.”

“We might as well.” Junsu grounds out, clearly displeased at having to give up information. Jaewon doesn’t respond, gaze fixed on Junsu, eyes boring holes into his.

Junsu stares back for approximately one minute before he caves. “Look,” he begins, “these kinds of mix-ups don’t happen. No reaper ever just goes and accidentally claims a heaven-bound soul, like you. It’s just not done. So until they summon us, I can only assume the worst.”

It’s weird, having someone refer to him as something holy, untouchable, but Jaewon dismisses it, choosing to focus on the last sentence. 

“Who are _they_? Where are they summoning us to? And how are they going to summon us in the first place?” 

“You’ll see.”

(And Jaewon did.)

* * *

The first trip to hell is always memorable. Junsu knows his was. And judging by Jaewon’s expression, he isn’t about to forget the experience any time soon either. 

“I didn’t expect it to be so...white. And empty. I mean, this isn’t really the fire I was thinking of.” Jaewon says, not taking his eyes off of the endless void of white flames around them. Junsu snorts, tripping over his own feet.

Instantly, the demons escorting them to the palace are right beside him, poking and prodding Junsu with their spears to get him upright and walking again. He shakes them off, cursing under his breath.

Demons. They’re vindictive bastards. But, Junsu supposes, if the only act of free will he had in his entire existence was the choice to make others’ lives miserable, he’d be a vindictive bastard too.

He turns towards Jaewon. “Doesn’t the blinding white fire give you a headache?”

Jaewon nods.

“Well, that’s kind of the point.”

“Still, it’s so empty.”

“What did you expect, all the tortured souls to be on display like we’re going window shopping for sinners?”

Jaewon cracks a smile at that, and oddly enough, the sight comforts Junsu, if only just a little.

The rest of their journey passes in silence and soon enough, they reach the palace.

Every inch of the castle is revoltingly opulent, but the throne room takes the cake. From the ornate throne to the walls, it’s all decked out in enough precious metals and stones to last a few small countries a lifetime. Junsu struggles to keep his disgust off his expression after they enter.

Of course, maintaining his expression becomes even harder once he spots the figure lounging on the throne.

The devil themself. Or, as they are mononymously known, Satan.

Fun fact about the sadistic overlord of the underworld: Satan’s earthly form is nothing but pure hate, and their body will appear to you as that of your most detested. It’s been ages since Junsu last met the man he sees in the devil’s face, but the sight of his father’s smug smile arouses the same rage it did years ago.

Junsu catches movement through the edge of his vision, and he turns to find Jaewon, hands shaking and jaw clenched. With a start, Junsu realises he must be seeing his CEO.

“Well?” They look down upon them expectantly. As much as Junsu is loath to do exactly what he spent his whole life fighting not to, he kneels in front of his father, pulling Jaewon down with him. Jaewon tumbles down easily, still in shock, or anger, but Junsu figures it’s probably a combination of both.

“I suppose you’re the reaper who’s caused me so much trouble?” The devil drawls, and though Junsu has his head bowed down, he can almost see his father smirking down at him. 

“Yessir.” The title slips out by accident, as if he is back home, receiving a lecture from his father. Satan does not reprimand the mistake, and so he continues. Junsu tries to sound as humble as possible, tries to keep all the emotions that he had kept at bay, that are overflowing now, out of his voice. “I apologize for the inconvenience I have caused you.”

“What an inconvenience it was. And on the night of the underworld, of all nights. Don’t you know better than to claim a heaven-bound soul?”

Protest bubbles up before Junsu can think about it. “But he would be wrongly made a demon if—”

“If nothing!” They thunder, “That soul died a day early, a mere clerical error. But it would have never reached hell, to begin with. Soul dies on a wrong day? It’s a mere typo to fix. It’s no reaper’s job to assume they know better.”

Junsu swallows the panic, the helplessness threatening to rise. 

_Glad to know what I did was for nothing._

“You, reaper, are to be turned into a demon, The soul is to be returned to where it belongs.” The devil motions to the demons lining the room to take them away, but Jaewon speaks up first.

“Wait.”

Junsu slowly turns his head towards Jaewon, who has risen and is standing straight, looking directly at the devil. 

He wants to cry. He wants to collapse and pretend that none of this is happening but all he can do is watch in horror as Jaewon continues to talk.

“What do you mean, turn into a demon?”

Somehow, through some miracle, Satan does not strike Jaewon down immediately for impudence. Amusedly, they answer, “Well, human, there are three main forms of sinners in hell. A reaper is still redeemable, can still reach heaven through good deeds. Those who aren’t are tortured for the rest of their existence, and those even worse than that are made into demons, stripped of their free will and set to torture for eternity.”

“And...you’re going to turn him into a demon?”

Satan hums and nods.

Junsu silently begs Jaewon not to test his luck further, to end whatever he was doing here and accept their fate.

“I object to that.”

Is there a fate worse than being a demon? Seems like Junsu’s about to find out.

“Oh? You do? Tell me, fledgeling angel—”

“I’m not an angel.” Jaewon stares up at the devil and _what the fuck someone kill Junsu now, Jaewon interrupted_ the devil. 

Satan peers down at Jaewon, lips quirking up on one side. 

“What an astute observation. Indeed you aren’t. But you could be. Or you could save your friend.” 

Junsu tries to remember how to breathe. 

The devil’s eyes twinkle, and they look seconds away from bursting into laughter. Jaewon seems unbothered.

“How?”

“You could forfeit your right to heaven and become a reaper. Only, if you manage to reap 1000 souls by the next night of the underworld, both of you will become human. Mind you, you won't remember any of this, should you succeed. Should you fail, both of you will share the reaper’s fate.” Satan’s lips stretch into the most unsettling grin Junsu has ever seen on his father’s face.

Jaewon nods and Satan waves his hand.

“Dismissed.”

Junsu feels the beginning of a migraine coming.

* * *

This reaper stuff is a lot more complicated than Jaewon was expecting.

Granted, Jaewon doesn’t even know what he was expecting. He isn’t sure he had any expectations at all. He didn’t bother thinking about the deal before he accepted it, something Junsu reminds him of excessively, at every chance possible.

“I can’t believe you would—”

Jaewon tunes the rest of Junsu’s lecture out. He’s listened to it more times than he can keep count of over the past two days. 

“Are you even listening?”

Jaewon says no before he can think twice. He’s rewarded with a throw pillow to his head. He lets it hit his face, making no effort to duck. It’s easier to just let Junsu rage. 

“Do you even know how to reap souls?” Junsu demands. 

_Finally._

Jaewon could cry in relief. Instead, he musters up all the patience he has in him and merely shakes his head, choosing to omit the part where a certain someone would have rather scolded him for days than teach him.

Junsu stares at him thoughtfully for a minute before he stands, jerking his head towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Jaewon scrambled to get up and follow him.

"To reap a soul," Junsu answers, already half out the door. 

Then they're leaving, Jaewon pestering him with questions and Junsu ignoring him.

Junsu grows visibly worried as they keep wandering further into the city. Fifteen minutes in, they reach a seedy area that Jaewon would feel unsafe walking through if he was alive, and Junsu breaks his silence.

"This doesn't make any sense," Junsu mutters, head turning back and forth rapidly as if he can't believe what he's seeing. Jaewon jumps on the opportunity.

"What doesn't make sense? Are you going to tell me what's happening?" 

"Well," Junsu glances at the run-down apartment buildings once more, "Reapers can tell if there are sinner's souls nearby. And the whole city must be crawling with them. But I can't feel anything."

Jaewon concentrates. "What does it feel like? Is it like a buzz in the back of your head? And it gets louder?"

Junsu nods and follows Jaewon's pointing hands to stare at a building to their left, equally as derelict as the rest of the buildings.

"But why didn't I…" Junsu trails off. Jaewon shrugs. 

The steps creak under their feet as they climb the stairs. As far as Jaewon can figure out, the soul they're looking for is on the eighth floor, but Junsu refuses to take the elevator, citing the danger of humans noticing. What humans he's referring to when the whole place is deserted, Jaewon doesn't know. He suspects that Junsu's just afraid the rickety old elevator will stop midway.

Jaewon misses their apartment building already, with its well-lit stairwells and working elevators. Of course, he picked out the most expensive one he could, just because he could.

(“What do we even need an apartment for?” Junsu asked, voice still edged with annoyance, Jaewon having not even waited an hour after making his deal with the devil to begin convincing Junsu, “Reapers don’t even sleep.” 

Jaewon smiled in response, unfazed. “We can still touch things, right?” He asked, completely ignoring Junsu’s question. 

“Yes,” Junsu grumbled under his breath about annoying humans for at least a minute before he replied, “We can interact with the human realm at will, though they can’t see us no matter what we do.” 

That’s all Jaewon needed to hear. 

“Like poltergeists!” 

Junsu’s eye twitches. 

“We can haunt that ultra-rich apartment. We can be the resident anti-capitalist poltergeists.”

Junsu doesn’t say anything. 

They move into an empty apartment a few hours later.)

Reapers may not get tired the same way humans do, but by the time they reach the eighth floor, Jaewon is beginning to feel a familiar ache in his legs. Junsu forges onwards regardless and Jaewon is forced to follow. Junsu only stops once they’re standing in front of the apartment door.

“I really can’t feel it.” He murmurs, frowning, before opening the door to a studio apartment that hasn’t seen a broom in ages. In the corner, a woman lies face down under the sink. Jaewon looks away, choosing to fix his gaze on a ketchup stain on the opposite wall.

“How does this work?” Jaewon asks, once he’s finally found his voice, Junsu’s answer comes from the direction of the corpse. Jaewon imagines he’s kneeling next to it. Jaewon doesn’t want to imagine that. “Do we physically guide the souls to the underworld or something?” 

“No, not really. There isn't a fixed point in this realm to access the underworld. The souls make the journey themselves, we just help them. Guide them. It’s hard to explain.” Junsu’s voice grows closer to Jaewon, and Jaewon looks up to face him. Junsu’s chewing on his lip, and Jaewon thinks he probably would have bitten through it if he were alive. 

“It won’t work. I can’t sense her soul, I can’t feel it.”

Jaewon doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Deals with Satan are rarely ever as simple as what you agreed upon.” Junsu sighs, covering his face with his hands. “You have to do it.”

Jaewon still doesn’t respond. He forces himself to walk towards the corpse, even though he would rather do anything but. Jaewon kneels towards her, avoiding looking at her head. He reaches out, and sure enough, her soul is there, just waiting for him. He closes his hands around it and his world explodes around him.

Jaewon falls back in surprise, flashes of someone else’s life still playing in his head.

“Memories?” Junsu guesses once Jaewon’s eyes snap back into focus. Jaewon nods. 

“Did you…” Jaewon croaks, “Did you see mine too? Back then.”

“Yes,” Junsu says softly as if Jaewon is an easily spooked animal. 

Jaewon takes a while before he speaks again. “She doesn’t deserve hell.”

“What?” Jaewon can hear the incredulity seeping through Junsu’s patient tone. Still, he keeps going,

“It wasn’t her fault.” Jaewon looks directly into Junsu’s eyes. He seems unmoved. “She killed him because it was the only option she had, she had no other way out, you can’t—”

“Jaewon!” Junsu interrupts. Jaewon ignores him. 

“Please, it isn’t her fault!” By this point, Jaewon is pleading. Nevermind that Junsu can’t change anything even if he wanted to.

“You can’t save her, Jaewon!” Junsu shouts over Jaewon’s rambling, and instantly, Jaewon stops talking. 

“You can’t save everyone,” Junsu says, barely whispering, voice deafening in the dead silence, “You’re going to have to let some people go, give up on some of them.” 

“She made her choice and you can’t save her.” 

The rest of the night passes in a blur. Jaewon only vaguely remembers reaping that woman’s soul. He only vaguely remembers coming back to their apartment. But next he remembers, he’s curled up in one of the king-sized beds, that woman’s last memories replaying behind his eyelids, Junsu’s words stuck inside his head.

* * *

Somehow, most of the year passes without incident.

Of course, Junsu should have known something would happen again. The issues from last time were nowhere near resolved. But it was easier to pretend they weren’t hidden behind corners, waiting to spring out. It was easier to let life flow as it did. Easier not to rock the boat. 

Fat load of good that does him.

Soon enough, months pass and the night of the underworld looms nearer and nearer. Soon enough, only one last soul is left. 

Jaewon gets the hang of reaping souls pretty quickly. Junsu barely ever helps Jaewon when he’s reaping souls. Sure, he’ll come with him, stand there with him. But Jaewon does everything himself, and Junsu stays out of his hair. If Jaewon doesn’t want him there, if Jaewon doesn’t want to talk about it, then Junsu will gladly avoid the topic.

It’s odd, not being able to sense souls anymore. 

Junsu walks a lot. Junsu has only ever been through four nights of the underworld, and the freedom to walk where he wants to all the time is exhilarating. He walks because he can’t sit still, because he can’t stay cooped up into the ridiculously luxurious apartment Jaewon convinced him they should stay in. Jaewon joins him most times, and they just walk in silence, down roads they’ve grown familiar with and down streets they’ve never seen before,

But it’s still unnerving, how silent it is. Junsu keeps waiting for the buzz in the back of his head, alerting him to souls nearby. He keeps stealing glances at Jaewon, wondering how he’s dealing with the constant noise. He wonders if he’s even dealing with it, all of it. Junsu’s painfully aware of the fact that once this last soul is reaped, their memories will be erased. He wonders how Jaewon’s dealing with _that._

Junsu still says nothing. Until he can’t.

They’re walking past a school, one that recently burned, when Jaewon suddenly heads straight for its entrance. Without asking, Junsu trails behind him. 

The inside is just as charred and crumbling as the outside. But the inside is also stained with blood and unidentified chunks litter the ground. It’s a testament to how far Jaewon’s come that he doesn’t even flinch at the sight. Junsu wonders if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. 

Jaewon forges ahead, not stopping until he reaches the heart of the school, and judging by the way the scorch marks get darker and darker and the damage gets worse near the room, it was the heart of the fire too. Jaewon steps in, no door to speak of. 

A barely identifiable body lies inside. It’s more charred husk than body, but evidently, the soul within is calling to Jaewon. Junsu assumes it was a teacher, one who didn’t make it out in time.

Jaewon reaches for its memories automatically, long since desensitized to painful last moments. Still, Jaewon’s hands shake once he’s seen them. It’s probably worse than usual deaths. Makes sense, burning to death can’t be pleasant. 

But even after a minute or two has passed, Jaewon remains frozen next to the body, hands still trembling. Even in death, Jaewon can’t stop being painfully human. 

Junsu sighs. He wants to say something, wants to say the right thing. But whatever moment was lingering, it passes before Junsu can even think of what the right thing to say would be.

“It isn’t fair,” Jaewon says, so soft Junsu almost mistakes it for the wind. And _not this again._

Junsu opens his mouth, ready to stop him before he even starts, but Jaewon continues, voice steady, and still barely hearable. 

“She sacrificed herself for all those students. They all lived because of her. But it’s not enough? She still goes to hell?”

Junsu has never been as grateful as for anything as he was for the fact that he couldn’t reap souls anymore. Even though it’s selfish, being thankful that Jaewon has to reap all the souls by himself, he can’t help but feel thankful. But now, in this moment, he wishes nothing more than to be able to see the teacher’s memories by himself, to figure out a way to justify to Jaewon that she’s fated to hell for a reason. 

But he can’t look at her memories. All he can do is scramble to comfort Jaewon with the information he’s got.

“Look Jaewon—” He begins, but Jaewon’s whispers cut him off again. 

“What’s the point then? Did she even do it for the children? Or could she just not bear to live anymore, did she just convince herself it was for the children? Does it even matter if it wasn’t for them?”

_Oh._

This isn’t about the teacher. 

Junsu sits down beside Jaewon, placing his hand on Jaewon’s arm, who has his knees drawn up in front of himself, staring vacantly at the floor in front of him.

“Sometimes,” he begins carefully, “we delude ourselves about why we’re doing things. We keep telling ourselves it’s for this reason or that until we forget what the true reason was, to begin with.”

“But Jaewon,” Junsu squeezes his arm, “just because something was done out of desperation, just because there were selfish reasons for doing something, doesn’t just erase the selfless ones. This teacher may have been suicidal. Maybe that’s why she did it. But she still saved a lot of children. It was also for them, and no one can erase that. It still mattered in the end, because the children survived. She may be still going to hell, but it definitely has nothing to do with how she died.”

Junsu doesn’t know how long they sat there, Jaewon’s gaze still unseeing, still silent. Junsu desperately hoping for Jaewon to say something, soon. 

He doesn’t. Jaewon doesn’t say anything. He just reaches for the soul once more, and Junsu just watches as Jaewon closes his eyes and whispers a silent prayer for it after he guides it. 

They’re walking back when Jaewon finally speaks.

“Have you been to the cinema?” Jaewon is staring up at him quizzically, all traces of his feelings from before erased from his expression.

Junsu snorts. “How long ago do think I was alive?”

Jaewon grins in response. 

“But...no,” Junsu admits, “I haven’t. Not really. Once or twice on a school trip.”

Jaewon grins wider at that. 

“Well, lucky for us, no one’s going to notice us. Free movies!” Jaewon jumps at the last part and Junsu laughs, startled. It dawns on him that Jaewon probably really wants a distraction. Whether it’s a distraction from the teacher or fact that all their work, this entire year spent reaping souls, is about to come to fruition, Junsu doesn’t know.

And so, to the movies they go. 

Junsu was telling the truth when he said he’s been, once or twice. But that was a long time ago, and when they actually reach the place, Junsu finds himself gaping at everything like it’s his first time. Jaewon looks over and laughs at him now and then, mood buoyed by his childish wonder.

“Come on!” Jaewon tugs his arm, pulling him towards the snack bar. Junsu follows, reluctantly. 

“Won’t someone notice a floating bag of popcorn? You can’t even eat them.” He hisses into Jaewon’s ear, trying to get his attention. 

Jaewon hums noncommittally, continuing to pile more popcorn into the bag. “The popcorn is a crucial part of the cinema experience,” he argues. Junsu resigns himself to his fate. At least Jaewon had the decency to wait for the employees to go on break before sneaking the popcorn. 

They go, floating bag of popcorn and all, to check out the titles. Junsu can’t make sense of them, and Jaewon gives him a rundown of each movie’s plot for him to choose from. He immediately vetoes the horror movie. Jaewon agrees, but that’s the first and last time he does.

“Come on, Junsu,” Jaewon wheedles, “let’s just watch the movie about time travelling. The documentary will be boring.” Junsu remains firm in his opinion.

“I want to see the documentary.” Jaewon sighs and gives in, leading them to the correct room.

“Ok fine, we’ll watch the documentary first and then the movie.”

Junsu squawks, indigiant. “Why’d you make such a big deal if we were gonna watch them both anyway?”

Jaewon just giggles and shushes him for the start of the film.

It’s just as boring as Jaewon said it would be.

Junsu wants to roll his eyes every other second, but he can feel Jaewon’s eyes on him, waiting for him to yawn or look away.

Junsu shifts, facing towards Jaewon.

“Can you stop staring at me?” He whispers, leaning forward so that he can be heard.

Jaewon leans forward, whispering straight into Junsu’s ear. 

“Stop looking at me through the corner of your eyes and watch the boring documentary.”

Even if he tries to concentrate, all he can hear for the rest of the film is Jaewon's soft whisper, breath tickling the shell of his ear.

It’s only once both films end that Junsu realised they didn’t need to whisper because no one would have heard them anyway.

“Hey!” Jaewon shouts right into his ear to snap him out of his thoughts. 

Junsu flinches, nearly falling over. Jaewon makes no move to help him, merely laughing at the sight.

“How long do you think we have before they summon us?”

Junsu doesn’t answer, and the mood takes an unexpectedly somber turn.

“I think,” he says finally, “we might only have a few hours left.”

“Well,” Jaewon smiles at him, “have you been on a roller coaster before?”

Junsu says no, but he’d love to try. He regrets it later.

“Great!” Jaewon grins, and Junsu doesn’t understand why he was giggling until after the ride ends. “Let’s go!”

Once Junsu’s head stops spinning and he’s chasing after Jaewon, yelling obscenities, he thinks that this is the most human he can ever remember feeling.

* * *

There's already someone in the apartment.

Jaewon wasn't expecting that and he freezes on the doorstep. Luckily, the person notices him a moment later. He walks over to the door.

"Hey, did you get the wrong place?" The man looks at him curiously. Jaewon can't bring himself to stop staring at his eyes. They're dark brown, nothing special. But for some reason, it feels wrong to Jaewon.

 _Pure black,_ something whispers from the back of his mind, _they should be fully pure black._

Which is ridiculous, humans don't have pure black irises, much less sclerae. Jaewon shakes off the random thought and smiles at the stranger.

"Hi, I'm Jaewon," he says, "and I don't think so." He pulls out his phone to show a text confirming that he was booked for a viewing at 3pm. The man unlocks his phone to show an identical text.

"Oh," Jaewon blinks, surprised, "I suppose they double booked us then?" The man nods, stepping aside to let Jaewon in.

"I'm Junsu," He tells Jaewon. 

They look around quietly for a few minutes before the silence becomes awkward. 

"So," Jaewon begins, trying to make small talk, "how come a guy as young as you is looking at such an expensive place?"

Junsu laughs. "I could say the same for you."

"Well, I don't really have a reason. It was just a feeling, that I should be in this specific apartment. It felt right." 

Somehow, before Junsu even speaks, Jaewon can tell he had the exact same feeling.


End file.
